Game Title
Storm Ahead

Developer Name
Team 1-P

Short Promo Blurb
In this top-down, turn-based god game, players protect a fragile forest ecosystem in a turbulent time.

Full Description
You are the spirit of these lands, and your vibrant jungle is home to a beautiful array of plant and animal life. But this rich natural landscape is also an economic battleground where industry and activists engage in a constant struggle. The goods and information leaving your forest will influence the policies that govern how your land can be used—and what measures stand in the way of its exploitation.

To turn the winds of change in your favor, you must harness the elements, revitalize the earth, and drive human groups toward locations where they will do the most good—or, if nothing else, the least harm. Cycles of seasons continue until your ecosystem is either safe for the foreseeable future, or harmed beyond hope of repair. Only with urgency and concerted effort will the people of this place rally to defend the forest, and preserve for this planet the trees it needs to breathe.

Promo Image(s)
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zM2fXWtiQJ8uYtFPzaMGwRRmkbIjDq56?usp=drive_link

Promo Video
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1zM2fXWtiQJ8uYtFPzaMGwRRmkbIjDq56?usp=drive_link

Artistic Statement / Use of Theme(s)
Tropical rainforests are important ecosystems for carbon uptake, and in turn, for the mitigation of human-caused climate change. While they are not as efficient in this role as temperate rainforests, they are uniquely under attack. Located in the Global South, many tropical rainforests are vulnerable to exploitation, both from subsistence practices of impoverished local communities and from destructive resource extraction driven by international corporations.

While the supernatural weather control of the game is intended to help players feel connected with the natural world, the nature of player action focuses on influencing human groups to take more responsible climate action, including taking better care of each other. The game illustrates the need to change our social and political climate if we have any hope of a sustainable planetary climate.

While the visuals of the game became busier than intended, there was definitely a focus on portraying rich, diverse biomes worth preserving in their own right in addition to their particular importance in counteracting a portion of irresponsible human emissions.

Development Summary
Our team of 5 (2 programmers, 1 pixel artist, 1 sound designer, and 1 composer) was communicative and positive throughout the jam period, and we quickly converged on a style of game that was interesting to everyone. Our brainstorming was extensive and ambitious, so the project came together a little more slowly than the jam stages laid out, with our intermediate submissions being more proofs of concept than playable prototypes.

While we had originally planned to make our weather patterns interactive so they could be combined in several different ways, time grew short, so we decided instead to keep a core 3 player actions that offered the most variety. Based on the time it was taking, we also decided to scrap the idea of making character portraits to go along with in-game news events. The final week was an extension of the production sprint, and everyone made extensive contributions to get the game in the playable state we ultimately arrived at.

Along the way, some of the challenges included getting a functional hexagonal grid system set up in code, producing sounds for things that had yet to be animated, and striking a balance between detail and quantity of art assets. But with feedback and a focus on delivering a fun and functional experience, we were able to power through. The final product may be a little rough around the edges, but we’re really proud of everything we’ve been able to create!

Release Plan
The game is in a pretty good state for an itch.io submission; it’s playable and highlights everyone’s contributions well. But if we were to aim for a commercial launch, there would still be considerable work ahead, both in terms of feature additions and marketing.

Several team members have expressed interest in possibly doing some additional work on the project as at least a portfolio piece. We have discussed creating a few additional maps, animal species, and events to represent similar ecosystems under threat in other regions of the world and highlight the global nature of the issues of habitat destruction and deforestation. We have also considered adding a simple achievement system to increase replayability and player motivation to attempt different strategies and improve their skill level.

While it is less likely that we will pursue the project to this extent, we also discussed early on how the game concept and mechanics could easily be extended to other types of ecosystems and landscapes beyond tropical rainforests; since that would require significant time investment. The game definitely lends itself well to expansion and variation.